What problems could a strike on Iran create for Donald Trump?

On 21 June, US President Donald Trump finally made up his mind on what to do about Iran’s nuclear programme. That same day, American forces dropped bombs and launched missile strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.

Even sceptics agree: Iran’s nuclear programme suffered a serious blow. The White House has dubbed the operation a victory.

However, there’s one major issue – by agreeing to the strikes on Iran, Donald Trump effectively broke one of his campaign promises.

Read more about the consequences of the Iran strikes for Trump’s standing within the US in the article by Oleh Pavliuk, a European Pravda journalist: Trump’s own goal? Why the strike on Iran could split the US president’s support base.

The vast majority of Donald Trump's political allies, even those who voiced reservations about the strikes, have echoed the administration's narrative. They claim the operation was a one-time action meant to pressure Iran, not a move toward a "forever war," and is part of the familiar "peace through strength" approach.

Democrats, on the other hand, mostly criticised the US president,not so much for the strike itself, but for launching a military operation without congressional approval.

Yet criticism also came from within the Republican Party.

"This is not Constitutional," said Rep. Thomas Massie, bluntly.

Massie, notably, has never been part of the MAGA camp, so his open opposition to Trump comes as no surprise.

But the backlash was even more pointed from longtime Trump ally and conspiracy theorist known for anti-Ukrainian remarks, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

In a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter), she expressed disbelief that the US was going to war in the Middle East while ignoring "international terrorist drug cartels."

"American troops have been killed and forever torn apart physically and mentally for regime change, foreign wars, and for military industrial base profits. I’m sick of it… I’m sick of funding foreign aid and foreign countries and foreign everything. I want to fund American interests and issues," Greene wrote.

Though she later clarified that her post was not a rejection of her support for Trump, her words clearly reflected confusion and discontent within the MAGA wing regarding the Iran operation.

Events in the last 24 hours, however, suggest the Trump administration sees the strike as a one-time operation and is still inclined toward further negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The apparent calculation is that US and Israeli strikes will push Tehran to make bigger concessions than before.

But will Iran continue to drag out talks? And what will Washington do if the strike turns out to have had less impact than expected?

Much of the answer to those questions will depend on public opinion.

More precisely – whether this seemingly short-term military action will hurt Trump’s approval ratings.

So far, the latest polls show only a slight dip in the president’s popularity. Still, over 80% of Americans express concern about the potential escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, and 79% are worried about how Iran might respond to the US strikes.